“No one will ever complain about your writing making something easier to understand.”

That’s how you should try to write, whether its for a partner, a judge, or your client. Simple, clean, articulate, and careful. No one has to read what you write, and it doesn’t take much to distract the reader to something else. Keep their attention. Each sentence should draw the reader further into the story. Er, the brief.

Ever feel like the writer of the brief you just read (or worse, wrote) was purposely making things more difficult than they were? Calvin and Hobbes aside, Today’s practice tip comes from Tad Radford, former Guardian science editor, letters editor, arts editor and literary editor. He lays down the “25 Commandments,” ostensibly for journalists, but just as applicable for legal writers (or any writers, for that matter).

Some of my favorites:

5. Here is a thing to carve in pokerwork and hang over your typewriter. “No one will ever complain because you have made something too easy to understand.”

…

15. Words have meanings. Respect those meanings. Get radical and look them up in the dictionary, find out where they have been. Then use them properly. Don’t flaunt authority by flouting your ignorance. Don’t whatever you do go down a hard road to hoe, without asking yourself how you would hoe a road. Or for that matter, a roe.

19. Beware of long and preposterous words. Beware of jargon. If you are a science writer this is doubly important. If you are a science writer, you occasionally have to bandy words that no ordinary human ever uses, like phenotype, mitochondrion, cosmic inflation, Gaussian distribution and isostasy. So you really don’t want to be effulgent or felicitous as well. You could just try being bright and happy.

A close cousin to #19 is #20:

20. English is better than Latin. You don’t exterminate, you kill. You don’t salivate, you drool. You don’t conflagrate, you burn. Moses did not say to Pharaoh: “The consequence of non-release of one particular subject ethnic population could result ultimately in some kind of algal manifestation in the main river basin, with unforeseen outcomes for flora and fauna, not excluding consumer services.” He said “the waters which are in the river … shall be turned to blood, and the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink.”

If there is one thing I never grow tired of laughing at is lawyers’ over-use, or abuse, of Latin. Heck, or by non-lawyers with delusions of grandeur. It rarely strengthens an argument and it definitely doesn’t make you sound smarter.

That’s not to say there are not any times when it’s appropriate, but they are few and far between. The few times that it is actually useful are when the phrase has entered the English lexicon as a phrase commonly understood (or at least among lawyers). For example: the phrase ‘habeas corpus.’ It doesn’t actually help to say “you have to have the body” when we all know that it has a specific legal meaning, specifically bringing a prisoner before a court to ensure that their detention is not illegal. You just say “a habeas corpus petition” or a “writ of habeas corpus.” (Or Great Writ, if you really want to sound pretentious.)

So, check your Latin at the door and say what you mean–in English, the language we all speak. Don’t say ‘sub judice’ when you can just say “before the court.”

My favorite of Radford’s writing commandments is on expanding your abilities through reading:

22. Read. Read lots of different things. Read the King James Bible, and Dickens, and poems by Shelley, and Marvel Comics and thrillers by Chester Himes and Dashiell Hammett. Look at the astonishing things you can do with words. Note the way they can conjure up whole worlds in the space of half a page.

Strictly speaking, my tip for today–to send, thoughtful, hand written “thank you” notes–is not just a tip for your law practice, but one of those commonsense touches that has been almost forgotten. In a time when electronic communication is ubiquitous, be it by email, Twitter, Facebook, or text message, the literally written word takes on an even greater significance and impact.

Notes can be as simple or as in-depth as you want. I’ve seen note on personalized stationary, notes on a simple white piece of paper, and notes on a card uniquely designed for the situation. My wife is a master at finding (and buying) cards for every occasion, often witty and always thoughtful. However, a fancy, personalized card isn’t necessary to write a great card. It’s a great touch, but I don’t think they are as important as what you write and that you are taking the time to write it. It takes time and thought to write a good note, and I guarantee people appreciate it.

When it comes to writing the note, I think there are three main things to keep in mind:

Personalize it. If you’ve ever written your Congressman or Senator, there’s a good chance you’ve gotten a response, probably something generic. It thanks you “for your opinion/comments/thoughts/etc” and then spends the rest of the letter detailing what the elected official thinks you want to hear, including policy positions and legislative actions. Don’t write this kind of letter. Say something particular to the person, something that indicates you actually remember who they are and what you are grateful for.

Keep it short, keep it simple. While there’s nothing wrong with a longer note (and if I’m writing to family, or a long-time friend, I’ll usually write more), a short note does the trick. It is enough that you’ve shown the thought to remember the person and say “thank you.”

Say “thank you.” As simple as it is, nothing says “thank you” like saying “thank you.” It says “I remember what you did, and I appreciate it. It made a difference to me.” So for all the nice, thoughtful things you put into the card, don’t forget to say “thank you.”

Do you have other suggestions for writing “thank you” notes? Whether it’s to clients, someone who has referred business to you, or the person in your life who makes each day worth it, a “thank you” card is a touch that is worth the effort of writing, addressing, and dropping the stamped envelope in the mailbox.